New Tricks
by 554Laura
Summary: Parker teaches a new skill to his great grandfather Hank. A fluffy one shot written with a Bonesology prompt. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.


_A/N: this story is late...it was part of the Bonesology prompts for October. The prompt was for Parker to teach something to Hank. I realize it was probably supposed to be Hank, the little brother, but my mind wandered to Hank, the great grandfather. I hope you enjoy my story. If you have time to review, I'd appreciate it._

* * *

Hank Booth ambled slowly across the cozy family room on his way to the kitchen. It was a chilly winter's morning, and he wanted another cup of coffee to warm himself up. Fiddling with the buttons on his cardigan as he sat down with his mug, he smiled to himself. He'd had a great time staying with his grandson Shrimp and Temperance over Christmas, but he'd enjoy getting back to his own home at the retirement center in a few days. Nothing could beat sleeping in a fella's own bed. In the meantime, however, he wanted to soak in as much family fun as he could.

Speaking of which...Hank had gladly agreed to stay with his great grandson Parker so that Shrimp could go clear away some paperwork at his office. Temperance had taken the baby to the pediatrician for a checkup and some shots and would then pick up some groceries before coming home.

He was looking forward to having some quality time with Parker as they spent the morning together. Parker was growing up quickly, and Hank was concerned that soon he might not want to spend time with an elderly man. Besides, who knew how many more Christmases they'd have together? Anyway, he was determined that they'd have fun together today.

Oooooooooo

"Are you sure you don't mind, Pops?", Booth had asked nervously as he shuffled some papers on the counter. "I'll only be gone a few hours, but Parker can be a handful sometimes."

"We'll be fine. I handled you when you were twelve, right?" Hank grinned at Booth as he tousled the boy's hair. "We're gonna have fun, aren't we, Parker?"

"Yeah, Dad..." Parker nodded slowly as he ate some cereal. "I'll be good."

"See?" Hank pointed toward the front door. "Now, you just go do what you need to do, Shrimp. I promise...the house will still be here in one piece when you get back."

Cringing slightly, Booth nodded. "Okay. Listen, I'll be back around noon, so don't worry about making lunch."

"Will you give it a rest? I don't make it a habit of burning up kitchens. It wasn't my fault you had lousy appliances in that tiny apartment." Seeing his grandson's exasperation, Hank chuckled. "Okay, okay. No cooking. We'll see you when you get home."

oooooooooo

Picking up his mug, the old man walked back into the family room, pausing as he saw Parker sprawled out in front of the television. "Whatcha doin' there, Buddy?"

The boy shrugged as he continued what he was doing without looking up at his grandfather. "Playing a game. It's hockey…"

"That don't look like hockey to me, Parker." Hank squinted at the figures as he watched them moving on the television's screen. "Those aren't even real guys, are they?"

"Nope." Parker used his thumbs on the controller to move the animated players over the ice. "But they're playing a make believe hockey game." Looking over his shoulder, he held up the controller for his grandfather to see. "It's on my Nintendo. I got it for Christmas."

"Lemme see that." Hank sat down on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. "Bring that contraption over here and let your old Pops look at it."

"Okay." Parker dragged the controller with its cords over to the sofa. "Here, this is how it works." He held the gadget with both hands and ran his thumbs over the buttons. "See, this one makes the player go this way, and then this one makes him go faster…" Parker pointed as the figure glided across the screen. "See, you can make him go in circles or weave down the ice." Seeing his grandfather's interest, Parker laughed. "Do you wanna try, Pops?"

"Well, maybe just for a minute…" Trying to hold the controller steady in his slightly shaky hands, Hank tried pushing the buttons but the player just spun around rapidly in one place. "Hey, how come this ain't working? How come he's not moving forward?"

"You gotta learn how to use the controller, Pops. You gotta practice." Parker grinned at his grandfather's scowl. "You know what my dad says…'practice makes perfect'..."

Grumbling under his breath, Hank tried without much success to make the player glide down the ice. Finally after several minutes of fumbling around and with much encouragement from his grandson, he hit the right combination of moves, and the skater went flying down the ice and hit the puck into the net.

"Lookee there...I scored a goal!" Hank laughed as Parker cheered loudly. "This is kinda fun, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. Hey, guess what, Pops? We can each be different players and then we can play together on the same team, or we can play a game against each other. Who do you wanna be?"

"I dunno...maybe Gordie Howe? Can the game do that? Make me into Gordie Howe? Man, he had a sweet game…" Hank's face glowed as he went over Howe's stats. "He was a great player."

"I don't think you can be him, though. It looks like you have to be someone who's playing hockey now." Parker ran through the menu on the game. "I'm gonna be Alex Ovechkin. I know...you can be Sidney Crosby…"

Hank sneered in disgust. "What? No way...he plays for the Penguins. I need to be a Flyers' player. I know...I wanna be Scott Hartnell. He scores lots of goals." Hank nodded toward the television. "See if he's available."

"Okay…" Parker found the player, and handed his grandfather a second controller. "So you're going one way, and I'm going the other. Are you ready, Pops?"

"You bet, kiddo. Drop that puck."

Parker easily won the first and second rounds, chuckling softly as his grandfather's frustration with the game grew. "Have you had enough, Pops?"

"Nope! I'm gonna win a round of this stupid game if I have to sit here all night. Come on, quit talking...let's play."

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you.", Parker gloated. "I'm gonna win again…"

"Not if I have anything to say about it, Squirt." Hank narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Get ready to skate hard, because I'm gonna beat you bad…"

Oooooooooo

Two hours later, Booth unlocked the front door with trepidation as he heard the loud noises coming from inside the house. "I hope Pops isn't letting Parker tear up the house…"

To his surprise, he found his grandfather and his son sitting side by side on the sofa, cheering wildly as they pumped their fists. Hanging up his jacket, Booth stood behind the couch with his hands on his hips. "What are you two up to?"

"Squirt here showed me how to play hockey on that fancy game machine of his, and I've finally got the hang of it. Watch." Hank grinned as the animation of Hartnell went flying around on the television screen. "I've beaten him fair and square the last two games, so now the Flyers are ahead of the Capitals in the standings."

"I don't believe that." Booth grinned at Parker as he nodded toward his grandfather. "Did you feel sorry for this old man? You let him win, right?"

"No way!" Parker smiled at his great grandfather. "It didn't take Pops very long at all to learn how to play the game, that's all. He's pretty good at it. I bet he could even beat you, Dad."

"See? I told you. I still got good reflexes, even if I am an old fella. This old dog was able to learn some new tricks today, okay?" Pops winked at his grandson. "Parker's a good teacher. He helped me figure out this game in no time."

"I don't think so. Anyway, there's no way you can beat me, Pops." Booth tapped Parker on the shoulder and gestured for him to get up from his seat. "Lemme have that controller. Who am I now? Ovechkin? No fair. I wanna be Scott Hartnell."

"That's too bad, since I've already got Hartnell, but it shouldn't matter who you are in the game, right? Because you think you're a hotshot at this hockey thing, right?" Hank laughed at his grandson's annoyance. "Bring it on, tough guy…"

Booth clenched his jaw as he grabbed the game controller. "Okay, Old Man...I hope you remember that when I beat the pants off of you…drop that puck!"

Oooooooooooo

An hour later, Brennan came from the garage into the kitchen, balancing Christine on her hip as she carried in some grocery bags. After hearing loud cheers coming from the direction of the family room, she was surprised to find Parker sitting at the kitchen counter, eating an apple as he read a comic book.

"What's going on?", she asked as she put Christine in her high chair. "Who's making all that noise?"

"Dad and Pops are playing hockey on my Nintendo." Parker took a bite of his apple as he turned a page in his book. "Pops is ahead four games to two right now, and Dad is determined to beat him."

"I'm sorry, Parker. I imagine you're probably anxious to play with your new games." Brennan rolled her eyes as she handed Christine some pieces of dry cereal and a sippy cup of milk. "It's really not fair for them to take over your game like that. Would you like me to go in there and ask them to stop so you can play with it?"

"Nah, they're having too much fun playing against each other. Anyway, I'll get to play Nintendo soon enough when I go back to my mom's house." The boy grinned at Brennan as she handed him some cookies. "I would like to get some extra controllers. I bet I can beat both Dad and Pops at the same time if I wanted to…"

"I imagine that's true.", Brennan laughed as she handed him a glass of milk. "I'm fairly sure I could beat your father as well. I have exceptional reflexes."

Parker nodded as he finished his apple. "Maybe they'll let you play the winner."

"Maybe." Brennan smiled as she turned to put the rest of the groceries away. "It's very nice of you to share your game with the rest of your family."

The boy shrugged as he dunked his cookie into his glass. "I'm glad Dad and Pops are getting to play with it. I think they're having fun together, and that's part of Christmas, isn't it? Having fun with your family?"

"Yes, Parker, it is." Brennan wiped Christine's hands before taking her out of her chair and setting her on the floor to toddle off into the family room. "I think it's time you show me how to play that game so we can have fun as well, alright? Then I can challenge your father and your grandfather to a game this evening."

"Sounds like fun." He hopped down from the stool and followed Brennan into the family room, smiling broadly. "And then maybe I'll beat all of you."


End file.
